If you look "hard" enough, you will see a crocodile in the upper left of the photo, and a turtle in the lower left.
Some of the museum folks I work with told me that crocodiles are still killing people in Swaziland. Apparently they can hide under water for 25 minutes, leaving people feeling safe. Then, of course, they can jump up and out of the water at tremendous speeds.
This croc is sunning himself with his mouth open (notice row of white teeth), because that is how crocs get body heat.
2 comments:
Nice croc! All the animals are really nice. The umgcula are awsome too. The dogs look a little crazy though, be careful!
Crocodiles, like all reptiles such as snakes and lizards, cannot warm up or cool down their bodies without the help of the environment.
We (humans) can cool down our bodies when we get too hot by sweating (which happens when we exercise). Likewise, when our bodies get too cold (which may happen while playing in the snow) we often shiver to produce more body heat.
Reptiles cannot sweat, and so they must move out of the sun and into the shade to cool off. And, as shown in your photo, they must lay in the sun to warm up if they get too cold.
I can often see these behaviors with the numerous lizards near my home in sunny Arizona.
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